Continuing to accuse its striking New York-area technicians of sabotaging its infrastructure, Charter Communications has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan and asked the judge to keep 1,800 striking members of the IBEW Local 3 at least 25 feet away from its facilities.
In a Manhattan Supreme Court suit obtained by the New York Post, Charter says there have been more than 125 instances since the strike began in late March in which International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers members have damaged the cable company’s equipment.
“The saboteurs clearly knew the optimal locations where they could quickly cut cable lines to multiple customers without being harmed or observed, suggesting they are cable technicians who work for Charter,” the suit said.
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Charter said the most egregious case occurred in June, when a node containing 143 network lines in Queens was sabotaged, leaving 35,000 customers in Queens without service.
Last week, IBEW Local 3 launched a digital ad campaign featuring a striking construction foreman in Northern Manhattan, a 29-year veteran of Charter—most of that time served at Time Warner Cable, which Charter acquired for $49 billion last year.
In the video, the worker recounts how his union benefits helped ease a medical emergency with his daughter when she was four. He also takes a dig at the lofty 2016 salary of Charter Chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge.
“If the CEO makes $98 million, how is our contract going to affect him?” the worker wondered.